Notice of Intent

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[WY-060-1620-01; WYW141435]

Notice of Intent

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement

(EIS) on a lease application received from Antelope Coal Company for

Federal coal in the decertified Powder River Federal Coal Production

Region, Wyoming, and Notice of Scoping on a modification to the lease

application.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received a competitive

coal lease application (WYW141435) from Antelope Coal Company (ACC) on

February 14, 1997, for a tract containing approximately 177.5 million

tons of Federal coal and including approximately 1,471 acres in an area

adjacent to the company's Antelope Mine. ACC is a subsidiary of

Kennecott Energy and Coal Company. The Antelope Mine is located in

northern Converse County, Wyoming; the lease application area is

located in Campbell and Converse Counties, Wyoming. The tract, which is

referred to as the Horse Creek LBA Tract, was applied for as a

maintenance tract lease-by-application (LBA) under the provisions of 43

Code of Federal

[[Page 33387]]

Regulations (CFR) 3425.1. The Powder River Regional Coal Team (RCT)

reviewed the competitive lease application at their meeting on April

23, 1997, in Casper, Wyoming, and recommended that it be processed. On

May 1, 1998, BLM received an application from ACC to modify the area

included in the proposed Horse Creek LBA Tract. The modified tract

includes approximately 2,838 acres and approximately 356.5 million tons

of coal. The BLM is currently requesting comments from the public on

specific concerns or issues that BLM should consider in processing the

modified application for the Horse Creek LBA Tract.

BLM conducted scoping on the original lease application in November

1997, including a public scoping meeting held at the Tower West Lodge

in Gillette, Wyoming, on November 13 at 7 p.m. As part of that scoping

process, BLM requested comments on whether an EIS or an Environmental

Assessment (EA) would best satisfy the requirements of the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

After consideration of the comments received during the scoping

period and discussions with the applicant, the BLM determined that the

requirements of NEPA would be best served by preparing an EIS for this

lease application. The Office of Surface Mining will be a cooperating

agency on the EIS.

DATES: As part of the public scoping process on the modified lease

application area, the public has the opportunity to submit written

comments on concerns or issues that the BLM should address in

processing the modified lease application. BLM will accept comments on

the modified lease application at the address given below. Comments

should be submitted by July 24, 1998, in order to be considered in the

draft EIS.

ADDRESSES: Please address questions, comments, or concerns to the

Casper District Office, Bureau of Land Management, Attn: Nancy Doelger,

1701 East E Street, Casper, Wyoming 82601, or fax them to 307-234-1525.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Doelger or Mike Karbs at the

above address, or phone: 307-261-7600.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 14, 1997, ACC filed coal lease

application WYW141435 for the following lands in Campbell and Converse

Counties, Wyoming:

T. 41 N., R. 71 W., 6th PM, Wyoming

Section 22: Lots 2 and 3;

Section 23: Lots 10 thru 16;

Section 25: Lot 11;

Section 26: Lots 1 thru 8, 12, and 13;

Section 27: Lots 5, 6, 11 thru 14, and 16;

Section 34: Lots 1, 7, 8 thru 10, and 16;

Section 35: Lots 8 thru 10;

Containing 1,470.570 acres more or less with an estimated 177.5

million tons of coal.

On May 1, 1998, ACC filed a modification to the Horse Creek LBA

tract which added the following lands to the area applied for:

T. 41 N., R. 71 W., 6th PM, Wyoming

Section 14: Lots 5 thru 7, and 10 thru 15;

Section 15: Lots 6 thru 11, and 14 thru 16;

Section 22: Lots 1, 4 thru 6, and 9 thru 13;

Section 23: Lots 2 thru 7;

Section 25: Lot 12 (S 1/2);

Section 27 Lots 1 thru 3;

Containing 1,493.470 acres more or less.

The Horse Creek LBA Tract application modification also removed the

following lands from the area applied for:

T. 41 N., R. 71 W., 6th PM, Wyoming

Section 22: Lot 2;

Section 27: Lots 6 and 11;

Containing 126.130 acres more or less.

The modified Horse Creek LBA tract includes the following lands:

T. 41 N., R. 71 W., 6th PM, Wyoming

Section 14: Lots 5 thru 7, and 10 thru 15;

Section 15: Lots 6 thru 11, and 14 thru 16;

Section 22: Lots 1, 3 thru 6, and 9 thru 13;

Section 23: Lots 2 thru 7, and 10 thru 16;

Section 25: Lots 11 and 12(S 1/2);

Section 26: Lots 1 thru 8, 12, and 13;

Section 27: Lots 1 thru 3, 5, 12 thru 14, and 16;

Section 34: Lots 1, 7, 8 thru 10, and 16;

Section 35: Lots 8 thru 10;

Containing 2,837.91 acres more or less with an estimated 356.5

million tons of coal.

The Antelope Mine, which is adjacent to the lease application area,

has an approved mining and reclamation plan from the Land Quality

Division of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and an

approved air quality permit from the Air Quality Division of the

Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality to mine up to 30 million

tons of coal per year. According to the application filed for the Horse

Creek LBA Tract, the maintenance tract would be mined to extend the

life of the existing mine.

Using the LBA process, ACC acquired maintenance coal lease

WYW128322, containing approximately 617 acres and 60 million tons of

minable coal adjacent to the Antelope Mine, effective February 1, 1997.

The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) will

be a cooperating agency in the preparation of the EIS. If the Horse

Creek LBA tract is leased to the applicant, the new lease must be

incorporated into the existing mining plans for the adjacent mine and

the Secretary of the Interior must approve the revised mining plan

before the Federal coal in the tract can be mined. OSM is the Federal

agency that would be responsible for recommending approval, approval

with conditions, or disapproval of the revised mining plan to the

Secretary if the tract is leased.

The lease application area is within the boundaries of the Thunder

Basin National Grasslands. Some of the surface lands in the area were

formerly under the jurisdiction of the United States and were

administered by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) as part of the Thunder

Basin National Grasslands. As a result of recent land exchanges between

the USFS and local landowners, however, there are no longer any surface

lands within the lease application area that are under the jurisdiction

of the USFS, and as a result, the USFS will not be a cooperating agency

in the preparation of the EIS.

There are six surface coal mines (Jacobs Ranch, Black Thunder,

North Rochelle, Rochelle, North Antelope, and Antelope) located

southeast of Wright, Wyoming, in southern Campbell County and northern

Converse County. Since decertification of the Powder River Federal Coal

Region in 1990, these mines have leased approximately 10,360 acres

including approximately 1.2 billion tons of minable Federal coal, and

have applied for approximately 8,900 additional acres of Federal coal.

Several issues related to this lease application were identified

during the initial scoping in November of 1997, including the potential

impacts to wetlands, aquifers, agricultural producers, wildlife,

wildlife habitat, wildlife-based recreation, cultural resources, and

access to public lands that may occur if a lease is issued for this

tract, and the potential for conflict with development of existing oil

and gas leases in this area, including coalbed methane. If you have

specific concerns about these issues, or have other concerns or issues

that BLM should consider in processing this application, please address

them in writing to the above address. Written comments should be

received by July 24, 1998, in order to be fully considered in the draft

EIS.

Dated: June 15, 1998.

Alan L. Kesterke,

Associate State Director.

[FR Doc. 98-16274 Filed 6-17-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-22-P